Místo abychom spotřebovali více plynu, vypneme vytápění.

It means instead of us... or more naturally in English, rather than....

So Místo abychom spotřebovali více plynu, vypneme vytápění has the structure:

• místo aby + clause = instead of + clause

A very common fuller version is místo toho, abychom.... The toho is often omitted, especially when the meaning is already clear.

Yes, místo literally means place, but it is also used in the idiomatic sense instead of.

Compare:

• místo = place
• místo něčeho = instead of something
• místo abychom... = instead of us doing...

So this is a normal extension of the basic meaning, not a strange exception.

Abychom means something like that we should / that we would / for us to depending on context.

It is built from:

• aby = a particle used in subordinate clauses
• -chom = marks we

In this sentence, abychom is part of the fixed pattern místo abychom...

Also, Czech usually does not need a separate subject pronoun, because the verb form already shows the person. So abychom already tells you the subject is we.

A learner should also know:

• abychom = standard Czech
• abysme = common colloquial speech, but not standard in careful writing

That is a very common learner question.

After aby, Czech uses a form that looks like the past participle / past-tense base:

• abych spotřeboval
• abys spotřeboval
• aby spotřeboval
• abychom spotřebovali

So abychom spotřebovali does not mean we consumed here. It means something more like:

• for us to consume
• that we would consume
• that we should consume

In other words, after aby, this form is not interpreted as ordinary past tense.

Because after aby, Czech does not normally use a regular present/future finite form like spotřebujeme.

You need the aby + participle-style form:

• abychom spotřebovali = correct
• abychom spotřebujeme = incorrect

So this is really a grammar rule of the aby construction.

Spotřebovat is perfective, and here it sounds natural because the sentence treats using more gas as a whole result or completed increase.

So:

• spotřebovat více plynu = use up / consume more gas as a completed amount

If you used the imperfective spotřebovávat, the meaning would shift toward an ongoing or habitual process:

• místo abychom spotřebovávali více plynu...

That is not impossible, but it would sound more like instead of being in the process of consuming more gas or instead of consuming more gas over time. In this sentence, the perfective spotřebovali is the more natural choice.

Because vypnout is a perfective verb.

In Czech, perfective verbs do not have a true present meaning in the same way English does. Their present-tense forms usually refer to the future.

So:

• vypneme = we will turn off
• not usually we are turning off

This is one of the most important Czech aspect rules.

Compare:

• vypínáme (imperfective) = we are turning off / we turn off habitually
• vypneme (perfective) = we will turn off

Because after více (more), Czech normally uses the genitive.

So:

• více plynu = more gas

Here plyn is a mass noun, so the genitive singular is plynu.

This is similar to other quantity expressions in Czech:

• hodně vody = a lot of water
• málo času = little time
• více peněz = more money

So více plynu is exactly what you should expect grammatically.

Yes. Vytápění is a noun meaning heating, especially the heating system or the process of heating a space.

So:

• vypnout vytápění = turn off the heating

A related everyday word is topení, which is also very common in speech. In many contexts, both are possible, but vytápění can sound a little more technical or system-focused.

Because Czech often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The forms already show the subject:

• abychom = we
• vypneme = we will

So adding my would usually only be for emphasis or contrast.

For example:

• My vypneme vytápění. = We will turn off the heating.
  This sounds more emphatic, as if contrasting we with someone else.

Without my, the sentence is the normal neutral version.

Because Místo abychom spotřebovali více plynu is a subordinate clause, and Czech separates that clause with a comma.

So the structure is:

• subordinate clause: Místo abychom spotřebovali více plynu
• main clause: vypneme vytápění

Czech punctuation is quite strict about this.

Yes, absolutely.

That version is very natural and may even feel slightly more explicit to some speakers.

So both are fine:

• Místo abychom spotřebovali více plynu, vypneme vytápění.
• Místo toho, abychom spotřebovali více plynu, vypneme vytápění.

The second one simply includes toho, which often appears in this expression.

It is basically neutral standard Czech.

A few notes on style:

• abychom is standard and correct
• vytápění sounds a bit more formal or technical than topení
• the whole sentence feels natural in written or careful spoken Czech

A more everyday version might be something like:

• Místo toho, abychom spotřebovali víc plynu, vypneme topení.

Here:

• víc is a common spoken variant of více
• topení is a very everyday word for heating

Both versions are good; the original just sounds slightly more formal or polished.